A NEW 257-bed Mandaue City Hospital (MCH) and a permanent seven-story Mandaue City College (MCC) campus will rise in Mandaue within the next three years.
These are the top priority projects unveiled by Mayor Thadeo Jovito “Jonkie” Ouano in his speech, delivered Monday, July 7, 2025, where he laid out a governance agenda anchored on accessible healthcare, quality education and responsive city services.
The announcement came during the inaugural session of the 17th Sangguniang Panlungsod, presided over by Vice Mayor Glenn Bercede.
Present during the session were city councilors Jimmy Lumapas, Maline Cortes-Zafra, Jun Arcilla, Jennifer Del Mar, Raul Kevin Cabahug, Carlo Fortuna, Joel Seno, Ting Sol Cabahug, Anjong Ouano, Eugene Andaya, Fritz Villamor and Ben Basiga.
Long overdue
Ouano said in his speech that the construction of MCH and a seven-story MCC campus are long-overdue investments that directly address residents’ needs.
The planned Level 2 hospital will be the city’s first full-service public health facility, developed in consultation with Dr. Gerry Aquino, chief of hospital at Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center.
“We will fix what has long been broken — by improving coordination among departments, reforming how projects are prepared and implemented and putting in place the monitoring needed to ensure real progress,” Ouano said.
He noted that despite the city’s P7 billion budget last year, only about P40 million — or less than one percent — was allocated to healthcare.
He said the MCH will symbolize Mandaue’s commitment to dignity and equity, even as the city operates under a leaner P4.5-billion budget this year.
Meanwhile, the MCC will finally have a permanent campus at the former Norkis Park in Barangay Looc.
He described the project not merely as a school building but as “a beacon of hope” for young Mandauehanons striving for a better future.
Ouano also said the city is in advanced discussions with Cebu Technological University to relocate its entire engineering department to Mandaue, creating an academic hub beside the city college.
Flooding woes
Beyond infrastructure, Ouano committed to addressing chronic flooding in the city, citing years of underutilized development funds.
He vowed improved inter-agency coordination, reforms in project implementation and aggressive flood control along the Butuanon River and Mahiga Creek, in partnership with the Department of Public Works and Highways.
He also stressed the urgency of modernizing Mandaue’s solid waste management system, calling it unacceptable that one of the country’s wealthiest cities still struggles with uncollected trash and neglected streets.
The City is exploring public-private partnerships to overhaul waste collection, disposal and recycling.
To support residents suffering from kidney disease, the mayor said the city aims to open a dialysis center within six to 12 months, in partnership with the private sector.
PPP Code
Ouano urged the City Council to help revise Mandaue’s Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Code to fast-track similar life-saving projects.
In the short term, Ouano said, the city will focus on revitalizing public spaces.
These include restoring the public market and plaza, beautifying Pajara Park beneath the Marcelo Fernan Bridge, installing more streetlights, completing the long-stalled Paknaan Sports Oval and upgrading the Mandaue City Cultural and Sports Complex.
He also pledged to streamline city hall processes, reduce red tape and make Mandaue more business-friendly by digitizing frontline services and cutting processing times for permits and inspections.
“We share one vision. We pursue one goal. We serve one city. And we will succeed—because we are One Mandaue,” he said. (CAV)